It was good to see Si's group had managed to succeed as well as make it to the Capital. With little time left, they needed to hurry over to the conclusion as soon as possible.
"Right then, let's head towards...hey wait. I can't move," Titania said in surprise. Her limbs felt as heavy as stones, her muscles acting as if they were full of lead. She wouldn't be the only one, for every member of their party would also find movement all but impossible. The sole exception was of course Si, an irony that was perhaps too late to be recognized. Closer inspection would show that a multitude of wires in fact kept them all at bay an'd that could mean only one suspect.
"You've run the end of your gambit, haven't you?" came the voice of the Imperator's advisor, the masked Jester standing in their sights. In front of him was a certain doll user who seemed all too ready to end this pathetic tale.
"It seems you've been given a chance of escape Lady Si. However, your kind is very much predictable. Either you turn yourself in willingly before the Imperator, or the companions you've fought so hard for perish right now," the Jester said neutrally.
"Oh, but you also have something of mine don't you?""Oh my, it seems that the pesky flies finally fell into my web for good," Emilia said, in an obvious mockery as she tightened the strings holding the greater part of the group.
"I hoped that the distraction by the doll I sent for Riven Wood was an entertaining one. Those Fey were likely some of the last targets I was asked to take care of, your help was splendid. Fufufu~" The Dollmaker chuckled darkly as she approached Fei, Jessi and Chen.
However, before she could say anything else, Si put her staff on Emilia's way.
"You really don't know how to play fair, do you? What's the point of making them all into hostages when I can simply let you capture me and wait until they die of old age to try it all again, like all the other times?" Si's voice had a clarity unusual of her, as if she had finally ditched the lazy disguise she wore all this time. A mask without a mask, perhaps.
"How very cold of you Si. Though I'm not sure if now is the best time to be revealing your ruthlessness," the Jester commented, his gaze sweeping over the rest of the group. Judging from Titania's shocked expression alone, it was easy enough to gauge the rest of their mindsets on this revelation as well.
"Behold the conquering hero. The Great Librarian; willing to use her own allies as pawns for her own manipulative gain. Well now, it seems you've lost both your freedom and your allies' trust Lady Si. You may take them away Doll Maker."Si was of course still free, though not for long. A clenching hand would grip the back of her neck and the Jester held her aloft like the drained cat that she was.
"Emblazon the image of your great savior into your hearts and minds. Let her betrayel fester the hatred you have of her ever more. And know that she will face divine judgement under the Imperator's graces." What might have been percieved as dramatics would serve well to do exactly what the masked man wanted. Because now only scorn and anger were drawn into the Rebel's expressions, the seeds of doubt all but harvested.
"Grrr!" Si groaned as she was held off her feet by nothing but her neck. However, what made her grit her fangs was how that manipulative bastard twisted her words to his own ends, again.
"You— you know that's not how it is," Si said with great effort,
"One day you'll taste defeat. I'm sure of that, grr!"Meanwhile, Emilia had already taken the necessary measures to remove the others, taking them to a mansion not very far from Infinitum itself.
"Now, now, while you may think that I'm a cruel and heartless monster, know that all I did was with but a simple purpose," the Dollmaker said as she revealed the basement of her temporary home, with an enormous Hermetic circle drawn on the floor, encircled by the Ouroboros symbol.
"You see, I got the chance to finally be free of my own chains and, meet my mother for the first time as long as I worked for Zyxzaxityn. To say the truth I don't need any of you, but taking revenge on the stuck up princess who had everything and didn't care for it was more than entertaining for me. Now that you snakes have been outed, you have no where else to go...""I'm sure you won't complain about helping me sharpen the skills and knowledge Mother left for me, right?" Emilia's smirk and the sight of a page of her Grimoire, which clearly differed from the other tomes, containing the signature of someone named Hohenheim, would be the last thing any of them would remember seeing, before falling into a deep slumber. What fate the sinister Dollmaker had for them, would be better left unmentioned, but certainly wouldn't be a pleasant one.
In the bowels beneath the Infinitum, two sisters were re-united at great cost to everyone present. Solanne's flight through the fallen priestess had not just liberated Eleonor but also the very core of the woman they fought. As the Crimson Hound pulled back from the battered Eleonor, shattered fragments of the ruby core slipped out and tumbled onto the stones below to herald her ignoble demise.
Yet what should have heralded victory only brought their ruin. The once docile, child like creature dominating the room's center was keenly aware of the loss of a compatriot, it's core flashing an angry light before raising it's voice in a scream that shook the foundation of the sewers. Sienna, whose attack may have gone without difficulty, would be swatted out the sky as the Giga Slime abandoned it's own defense to snatch her with its remained arm. She was pulled within the thick sewage, masked from outside observation while the pressure intensified within the slime's palm. Linea would not be seeing her dear sister emerge from the mass of filth as it sent its bared fist rocketing down upon her soon after to swallow the remaining fox.
Eleonor's eyes widened in shock, in one moment everything seemed ok, and that they would finally be able to succeed, but— next thing she knew, Antonia was dead and the Aquarian Twins devoured by the gigantic slime, to whatever fate waited them. Yet, she could do nothing to avoid it, her impotence being such that she could only give in to despair, her soul completely crushed. The only thing she could do was cling to Solanne, her own sister, wondering when all this destiny had been decided.
"No. no .no. no. no. no. no. no. no. No!" Lorelai screamed over the frantic thundering of her heart as once more things fell apart around her, and for all their power, this looked to be the time where they couldn't put it back together. The Aquarian twins were swallowed whole and the Slime was now rearing upon them next. Tori and Ruxen were still beside her, yet all her focus was drawn to lamentations of Asgard- No, Eleonor. It was callous and ignoble but when faced with certain defeat, Lorelai left them with an explosive leap towards the Luxonne's just seconds before the Slime's fist came down once more. This time it did not bother to swallow the hound and academic, as when Lorelai stole a look back she found the nauseating sight of their bodies driven into the curvature of the walls with such force they still clung to the stone after the first reared back. Missing from Tori's splattered carcass was the tiny robot she held so dear, it's stolid form skidding across the masonry before slipping into the sewage, never to be seen again. She wretched in mid air, and the distraction caused her to stumble upon landing with her back roughly meeting the wall. "Gaah-!"
"Fuck off you giant piece of crap. That shit hurt, y'know-" were the Beastkin's last words before she was crushed against the walls. Solanne could only stare in nervous horror as it looked like their plans to escape were slowly dwindling away into complete nothingness. Still, she did the best she could and shakily hiked Eleonor up into a standing position.
"L-lady Eleonor. Yo-guh- need to...run." The Abyssal Knight coughed, a wad of fluid a dark red spitting out onto her chest in the process. She struggled to rise and felt a deep laceration cutting into her back, the knight's own armor now stabbing her from the warping of the collision. Still, it did not stop her from raising a shaky hand to point towards the only way to escape the Giga Slime. On the platform adjacent to theirs was an elevator set into the stone, and if there was any chance of evading the slime it was there.
"Solanne, please...take her. Run.""You will do no such thing," said the voice of authority. Before Solanne could think about moving Eleonor to somewhere, she was flung into the wall by an invisible force. Eleonor would be shoved to the opposite end, the sisters far out of reach now but fully able to see the other's horror. Eyes zipping about wildly, she looked around to see what was going on. And when she spotted the masked man rising from the ground like a ghost, she knew this all to be over. They had lost.
"You have lost," the Jester said, walking over to where Lorelai's downed body was. Soon enough, the sound of heavy, clamoring boots would fill her ears as Imperial soldiers from all sides descended upon them led by Farris and Stark.
"You should perhaps be quieter when skulking around the Imperium's basement," the Jester told Lorelai flatly, gaze turning into the bloody mess that was Ruxen.
"The immortal still lives," he observed, walking over and picking up what was left of Ruxen by the scruff of her neck.
"You may apprehend these Rebels to our glorious Imperium General Stark, Commander Farris. You on the other hand...." The Jester's words trailed off as he looked down at Ruxen; if anyone bothered to listen, they'd be able to pick up a small whimper of fear coming from the Beastkin.
"Ahh!" Eleonor yelled when she was slammed against a wall, falling limp on her knees before Farris.
"How could something like this happen? All I ever wanted was to make the Imperium a better place for everyone, a place where Sol could live again..."A fit of coughing forced the fallen Crimson Knight to stop talking, for a moment, specking the stones under her with red.
"Why can't I ever do anything right?""That is simple, former Lady Asgard," Farris replied as she put Eleonor in chains, before pushing her to the other soldiers to carry away.
"You wanted to dig too deep. There's no way a simple human like us can change the world that much, if you had just fought against the Librarians, you would be a hero like no other one, but the moment you turned your hand against the Imperator, was the moment your demise became certain.""In fact, you are lucky that her Holiness is as benevolent as she is, none of you may end up facing the worst punishment possible," Farris gestured for the men to take Solanne away as well, leaving Lorelai to Zealot's judgement.
"This one is almost dead, you can do of her as you see fit, I don't intend to sully the Imperator's chambers with more blood than necessary. As for you, Crimson Hound," the dark skinned soldier said, approaching Solanne and cupping the face of the legendary rebel in one of her hands,
"How do you feel by finally being put in your place? Your rebellion lasted for too long. It's about time you meeting the Imperial kennels.""It's about time you screwed off," Solanne said right back, ripping her head to and fro to get Farris' grip off of her.
"Do what you want. There are still plenty of Rebels out there, waiting for the chance to cut you and your precious Imperator down, y'know." Of this, she was certain, thoughts of several other forces laying dormant in this world coming to mind.
Disregarded as one of the dying, Lorelai felt wholly impotent to watch as the Jester struck them down and carried off the battered Lady Eleonor. That she couldn't at least follow her lady into their grim fate stung more then wound digging into her flesh like a dull knife.
"Damn it." She swore lamely, no fire left to fuel her anger any longer, and it was with little resistance that Stark's men would find her slumped against the wall. Stark took one glance at Lorelai before motioning his men to carry her off like the rest of their prisoners. He would be sure to seperate her from the Luxonne sisters for the rest of her endurance.
The Giga Slime had gone docile the moment the Jester made its presence known, showing it was at least well trained enough not to attack its loyal superiors. Its rage subsided as it watched the others be detained and knew its work was done and some sense of justice would be had for its slaughtered kin. Antonia was a new born compared to the Giga Slime, and while her personality left much to be desired, it still welcomed her company deep within the bowels of the sewer. Now, it intended to have another take her place and keep the ancient monster appeased. Reaching its hand out over the platform where Farris was carrying off her prisoners, Linea passed through its palm and fell onto the stones. Her body was covered from head to toe in thick slime and the skin beneath was bruised shades of black and blue, yet her chest still rose and fell with gasping breathes. The giga slime then drew her hand back close to her chest and cradled what looked to be a sleeping form close to its chest, Sienna herself looking hale and hearty where it not for a red light shining through her chest cavity. Which sister received the harsher fate was unclear, though it was certain to be interesting if either twin were to see the other ever again.
"Yes, you may be right, but it's not like that is of my concern at the moment," was Farris reply to Solanne's snarled threat.
"That's the problem with you rebels, why be so persistent? Even if you won, all that would happen is a point of view shift. You would be seen as the oppressors, while the rest who's content to live as they are now would become the rebels, or worse, your own base would be shattered and you would start to fight between yourselves? Following the rules by the book and not caring for anything else is the simplest thing in the world. Is that so hard to see?"was the last thing the Royal Guard would say before Solanne and the rest of the prisoners were taken away.
With the Imperial forces scattered about in the Shattered world, it only made sense that security among the Capital would be few and far between. Even so, that was an acceptable outcome; Alex and Meihou were able to successfully execute their Heist, though there was little to take in the first place. No doubt each were happy with what they had accomplished, living long and happy lives without pondering the consequences of doing so. But even this was acceptable; as the two of them departed from the vaults of the Capital, they would never notice the masked presence watching them. Of course, no interference would be taken; after all, they had brought about this themselves and there was no reason to punish them for remaining ignorant.
For as long as the sins of greed and selfishness remained in the hearts of man, they would always be swayed those greater than themselves. Even now this was true as Alex and Meihou would be all the wiser of the results of their actions. As for the Blue Relic, Alex was free to keep it as long as he liked. Though he would find its shine and luster to dim with each passing day until even its influence was reduced to nothing more than a dull rock. Whether Alex would dispose of the thing when it stopped being useful towards his needs couldn't be said, though it was very probable.
"... and, such is life, is it not?" A overtly cheery merchant's voice said to a man that was just about to leave her street stall, having had his immediate needs fulfilled by the magic of capitalism.
"May I offer you one last item, I'm sure your children will like a picture book about the fall of the of the Librarian and the fake Asgard, right?" Mikoto said, her grin wide as ever and somehow she looked like she didn't aged a single day from the time when she met Chen in the outskirts of Riven Wood.
"In fact you can have this one on the house, it's a present for one of my best patrons, hehe!"Once she was done with the business of the day, Mikoto packed her things, making sure to keep a certain pouch safely secured to her waist. A sneak peek would reveal a jet black stone, shining lustrously inside of it, a remainder of why one shouldn't dismiss a helping hand when it comes to them,
"It's such a shame, right, Chenny Boy? I said I had a Relic with me, but I never said it was the yellow one. Maybe, someday I can pawn it for Ruxy's freedom? Who knows?" The fate of some truly hanged in the scales of a merchant sometimes.
Far away from the bustling activity of the Imperial Capital, in the once ruined lands of Warovia, a certain Dollmaker Princess celebrated her first success after so long years of trying to replicate her mother's genius work. Sincerly, Emilia was still leagues behind understanding all the lore left to her by the mysterious Alchemist of Genesis, but even the tiniest fraction of it was enough to completely revitalize her realm. Sure, the populace looked a bit bland, given that Emilia had quite a limited number of samples to work with, but the Dark Princess was sure that, Jessi and Chen wouldn't complain about their position as the progenitors of a New Warovia, along with a few of the remaining doll bodies Emilia had in stock.
At least Titania and Fei had been treated to a much better fate, if on could call it that, the Doll Maker being unable to pass one the chance of having two new toys to sooth her pains after as much work as she did. It was indeed always a magnificent sight whenever Emilia came back to her chambers, to find the two living dolls she loved so much waiting to serve her eagerly.
"I may be a bit too slow to understand the full scope of your work, Dear Mother, but I'm sure to enjoy whatever I can get out of it. Just wait for me, soon enough I'll show you what kind of daughter you've built. Hahahaha!"Within the Imperium, the Luxonnes found themselves sharing a fate similar to their counterparts in far off Warovia, a service to the Imperium even in their captivity that would not end till their death's many years later. The Abyssal Knight survived her wounds only to endure a life long torment in the cell adjacent to her Lady's, cursed to hear yet never comfort. Tales would persist of a terrifying beast that would be drawn to the edge of the capital each year, but after a decade it gave up on returning to await it's lost partner.
And so the tale of this Shattered World came to an end. A fitting conclusion for the foolish individuals who sought to put an end to the Imperium's reign. Within the chambers of its highest leader, the masked Jester watched from the shadows the fruits of this world's labor. For no one brought about this conclusion except for the inhabitants who dwelled in this world.
"In the end, all things came about as they were foreseen. Granted, I could have made do with all of the Legend Relics. But if my source is to be trusted, then the Blue Relic is of no use to me anyway. It's a shame you had to endure all of these trials, only to amount to this my dear friend."The voice of the Imperator was full of victory, her divine words no doubt hosting a very different meaning for the two cradled before her. Two leashes were gripped in her hand, each of which ending in a life-draining collar and fitted around the newest treasures of the Imperium. For her part, Ruxen simply stared at the floor with dull eyes, the occassional twitch of her ears signifying that she was still breathing at all. As she occupied one side of the Imperator's throne, the other was taken by the former Librarian that had caused such petty trouble to begin with. Only a mere dosage of twelve years had passed and still the Fairy sought to defy her. That was fine by the Imperator; it wasn't like these two would be granted the mercy of permanent death.
Nor would the Imperium's rule be ending any time soon.
